CUs address need for access to capital in letter to Sen. Banking Comte

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE       

CONTACT: Lauren Williams – CUNA Communications; (202) 626-7642; lwilliams@cuna.coop    

Washington, DC (June 26, 2018) – Today Credit Union National Association (CUNA) sent this letter to Senate Banking Committee leadership prior to this morning’s hearing on ways to enhance consumers’ access to capital entitled, “Legislative Proposals on Access to Capital." The letter was written to Chairman Crapo and Ranking Member Brown to urge for consideration of two proposals that are significantly relevant to credit unions.  

One growing concern CUNA addressed is the National Credit Union Administration’s (NCUA) risk-based capital standards for credit unions. The letter calls into question the appropriateness of the regulatory burden and whether the NCUA has legal authority to impose a risk-based standard.   

“NCUA lacks the legal authority to set a risk-based capital standard to determine whether a credit union is well capitalized, and coming out of the financial crisis, Congress did not convey this authority,” the letter reads. “During consideration of the Dodd-Frank legislation, Congress explicitly excluded credit unions from risk-based capital requirements, in recognition of the credit union difference and the fact that America’s credit unions—nearly half of which employ fewer than five full-time employees and hold less than $20 million in assets—were neither responsible for nor participatory in the risky financial activities that predicated the 2008 financial crisis.” 

CUNA also recommends eliminating statutory restrictions on the maturity of loans made by federal credit unions to provide more access to capital. 

“While federal credit unions are permitted to make mortgage loans with maturities of more than 15 years, most other federal credit union loans must have maturities of 15 years or less. This puts federal credit unions at an unnecessary disadvantage relative to many state-chartered credit unions and other depository institutions. It also makes credit less available for federal credit union members because it complicates both credit unions’ ability loan to some education borrowers and to sell certain loans into the secondary market.” 

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About CUNA       

Credit Union National Association (CUNA) is the only national association that advocates on behalf of all of America’s credit unions, which are owned by 110 million consumer members. CUNA, along with its network of affiliated state credit union leagues, delivers unwavering advocacy, continuous professional growth and operational confidence to protect the best interests of all credit unions. For more information about CUNA, visit cuna.org.